Within Arms Reach

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by the vast array of broken things in this world. Even outside my own experiences, my eyes witness conflict, greed, loss- all close-up encounters via a glowing screen held in my hand. And then I scroll on, the overwhelm quickly lost to a baby announcement, or some van-lifer’s vlog. Phones give

The Evolution of Hope

Sometimes it’s helpful to look back and remember what was, so you can appreciate how far you’ve come. Sometimes it’s helpful to do that as an organization. Check out what Operations Director, Kellye Dubinski, has to say about City of Refuge’s journey.  I began my journey with City of Refuge back in October of 2015.

If you couldn’t read or write…

My pad of paper was blank. Pen in hand, ready to write… but no words to put down. I was listening to problems I had no solutions for. Listening to challenges I could not fix. I sat there, eager to jot down a million notes and ways that we could step into the mix and

Soap Night

I was in my happy place as I stopped to look around the Artisan Center one Thursday night. The room was full of teenagers from Afghanistan, Eritrea, and Myanmar; MU students and CPS teachers who came to mentor and provide homework assistance at Youth Impact Night also crowded downstairs. Many of our City of Refuge teens